It is known in the art to construct umbrellas which open automatically with the manual release of a catch wherein the compression of a spring causes a hollow member, to which the ribs of the umbrella are attached, to move along a shaft extending through the hollow member. The presently disclosed device accomplishes both the automatic opening, as accomplished by the previous art, (but by a means different from that of the prior art) and in addition discloses a means by which the automatic closing of the umbrella can be accomplished (by a means not disclosed in the prior art).